Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust – Residency
The Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust offers Swiss literary scholars and practising artists a place to reside and work in Varanasi, India. [dated August 2008]
Pro Helvetia New Delhi in collaboration with The Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust offers Swiss literary scholars and practising artists a place to reside and work in Varanasi, India.
Dr Alice Boner (1889-1981) a Swiss artist and scholar settled in Varanasi, India in 1936 and came to be known as one of the outstanding scholars and interpreters of Indian sculpture and temple architecture. Inspired by the surroundings, Alice Boner chose to live in an old house on Assi Ghat, on the banks of the river Ganges in Varanasi. Once in India, she turned to art studies and studied principles of Indian art and architecture. Her research led her - to not only the significant discovery of the principles of composition in Indian sculpture, but also to a search for the meaning of its content.
For her unique contribution to the understanding of Indian art, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, an Indian civilian award that is awarded to recognise distinguished service of a high order to the nation, in any field, by the President of India in 1974. She was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Zürich.
The Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust was set up with a view to support the study of fundamental principles in Indian art and establish fellowships for writers, artists and scholars who wish to live and work in Varanasi for a length of time. The Trust has maintained the house, as it was when Alice Boner lived there. Her own living quarters from where she could watch the sunrise and the river Ganges remain untouched. Residents staying at the house can also see Alice Boner’s paintings, which to this day adorn the walls of the house.
The Residency
Each residency will be for a period of four to eight weeks and will cover the costs of international flights, visa and insurance and also a per diem for the duration of stay. The Alice Boner and the Arts of India Trust will provide accommodation and also take care of the hospitality costs for the duration of the residency. Swiss writers and artists who are looking to work in India are encouraged to apply for this residency at least 3 months before they wish to take up residency to Pro Helvetia New Delhi.
Alice Boner House B1/ 159 Assi Ghat Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Tel: +91 542 2311360
CRISS + CROSS design from Switzerland 1860 – 2007
Pro Helvetia - Swiss Arts Council invites you to a Swiss design exhibition in Ahmedabad and Bangalore. [ dated August 2008]
CRISS + CROSS has been curated by Ariana Pradal, Köbi Gantenbein & Roland Eberle
Ahmedabad
Partner: National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
Venue: National Institute of Design, Paldi, Ahmedabad 380 007 Opening on Tuesday, 5 August 2008 at 5 pm Date: 6 - 14, August 2008 Time: 10am to 7pm (daily)
Bangalore
Partners: Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology & Goethe-Institut Bangalore
Venue: Goethe-Institut Bangalore, Max Mueller Bhavan Opening on Friday, 5 September 2008 at 6:30 pm Exhibition on view from 6 - 20 September 2008 10:30 am - 6:30 pm (Mon - Sat) 10:30 am - 5:00 pm (Sun)
The exhibition is made up of seven parts:
small + beautiful
Switzerland is a small country and its engineers are masters of miniaturisation. The focus of miniature design has shifted hugely to now include apparatus such as hearing aids, pacemakers, digital cameras and computer mice etc. The objects are small, even tiny, and technically and aesthetically outstanding. A range of these tiny objects owe their distinctive appearance to Swiss designers.
the tiny helpers
Our arms, hands, legs and eyes are useful, but limited. The designer has constructed a range of implements and tools that enable us to clip and cut, dig and plough, scrape and stir. For use in homes, offices, kitchens and gardens.
up to the mountains
Featuring the tourist industry’s mountain railways, cable-cars, tunnels, chalets, hotels, posters, sports equipment, hats and gloves, all of which naturally has to be given an appealing design.
the longsellers
Swiss design goes back a long way: Toblerone, the Swiss army knife, the Swiss map, furniture by Willy Guhl, Le Corbusier or USM Haller.
hip + young
There is hard and fast competition among designers to create imaginative variations for apparatus, jewellery, clothes, books, food products, machines and everyday equipment. Many small studios design and produce goods and brands specifically for small, but dynamic sections, giving rise to a delightful range of colours and shapes.
a visual statement
In 1958, the designers Richard Paul Lohse, Josef Müller-Brockmann, Hans Neuburg and Carlo Vivarelli founded the magazine New Graphic Design, which quickly became internationally famous. These authors regarded graphic art as communication and no longer as applied painting. Thus they laid the foundation for corporate design, which quickly spread internationally. What began as New Graphics mutated into Swiss Style and later into International Style. A slide show presents about 300 recent works of graphic designers from various fields.
library
Switzerland has a long tradition as a book-printing nation. Books that boast not only about stimulating and intelligent content, but also so beautifully designed and are in demand across nations.
CRISS + CROSS is supported by:
Pro Helvetia – the Swiss Arts Council
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology , Bangalore
Goethe-Institut Bangalore, Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore
The exhibitions in India are part of the jubilee celebrations commemorating 60 years of Indo- Swiss friendship. For more information click here.
